Advances in technology have proliferated the usage of electronic devices such as computers, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart devices, and the likes. In today's society, entities have quickly embraced electronic devices by creating an environment that provides users with mobility and flexibility. In an example, public libraries now provide free internet access to the public. However, before a user may access the internet through the access service provided by a public library, the library may require the user to configure the electronic devices to comply with the library's security policy.
Consider the situation wherein, for example, a user wants to access the internet with his personal laptop while he is at the library. The user may first connect his electronic device to the library's network. In an example, the user may connect his personal laptop to the library's LAN (local area network). Then the user may configure the network connection of his electronic device. In an example, to perform network configuration, the user may have to set up his personal laptop with the library's IP address. Once the network configuration has been completed, the user may install the security policy. In an example, the user may have to download and install the security certificate.
Some entities may also offer wireless access. Once the user has established a LAN connection with the entity, the user may be able to set up wireless access. To establish a wireless connection, the user may have to perform wireless configuration.
A major disadvantage with this process is that users are expected to configure their electronic devices to make the electronic devices compatible with the entity's network. As can be appreciated from the foregoing, the process of configuring the electronic device may be a daunting task for many users. Typical users may find the task of configuring their electronic devices a complex and frustrating process since most users may not have the time, skill and/or desire to perform the configuration.
Unfortunately, the steps for installing a security policy may have to be repeated often since each entity may have a different network configuration and/or may have different security policy. Additionally, some entity may have more than one security policy. In an example, to access information about research and development, a user may have to have a higher security authorization than what may be generally applied throughout the company. In another example, different branches may have different security policies. Thus, an employee that may have to travel to a different branch may be required to reconfigure his electronic device in order to access the company's network.
Memory cards may be employed to assist in the task. The security policy may be saved onto the memory card, such as USB, SD card, and the like. A user may couple the memory card to his electronic device in order to install the security policy. This method usually does not require the user to manually perform network configure on his electronic device.
However, there are several limitations to this method. For example, memory cards are usually small devices that may be easily misplaced. Also, even though network configuration may not be required, the user may have to perform interface configuration since the drivers on the memory cards may not be able to automatically communicate with the electronic devices. In addition, some entities may not allow the utilization of memory cards because the entities may want to prevent the unauthorized copy of confidential information. Further, the entities may want to limit exposure to malicious codes by preventing the spread of malicious codes through memory cards. As a result, even though the utilization of memory cards may solve the need for network configuration, the use of memory cards may create other problems.